Liber Pater

History

In 2016 a Bordeaux court ruled against Pasquet in a case over export promotion subsidies, a decision he contested and appealed, maintaining he had been the victim of a commercial partner. A separate case about appellation rules and his unusually high planting density was partly overturned on appeal in 2017.

Pasquet purchased this property in 2005 from Graves, located in Landiras. The first vintage he oversaw was in 2006, which, by Bordeaux standards, means that Liber Pater is truly a young winery

The name derives from the Roman god, associated with Bacchus, which symbolizes vines, wine, and abundance. It is a fitting name for this project, based on the idea that Bordeaux's true identity predates current conventions.

This wine achieved cult status almost overnight. In just a few years, a single bottle began trading for thousands of euros, and Liber Pater became one of the rarest and most sought-after wines in France.

However, the very choices that made this wine unique brought Pasquet into conflict with the authorities. In 2016 a Bordeaux court ruled against Pasquet in a case over export promotion subsidies, a decision he contested and appealed, maintaining he had been the victim of a commercial partner. A separate case about appellation rules and his unusually high planting density was partly overturned on appeal in 2017.

Landiras, a mule and a very old plough

The Liber Pater vineyard is located in the Landiras commune of the Graves appellation and is quite small. Because it is so small, Pasquet personally cultivates the entire vineyard with the help of a single mule.

The vine planting density is what most clearly distinguishes this vineyard from modern Bordeaux practices. Some sections of the vineyard are planted with up to 20,000 vines per hectare, which is roughly double the regional average. The higher the density of vines, the fiercer the competition, and the lower the yield per vine.

Furthermore, yields are intentionally kept low. The farming tools used also reflect this philosophy. The vineyards are worked entirely by Pasquet and a mule, using traditional horse-drawn vineyard implements rather than tractors.

The vines are ungrafted and planted on their own roots rather than on American rootstock. This is the most distinctive feature of this place, and everything else stems from this.

Why sand matters here

Ungrafted grapevines are rare in the Bordeaux region, and the reason is clear: it is due to phylloxera, the root louse that devastated the European vineyards beginning in the 1860s. Grafting onto resistant American rootstock was the solution, and this became standard practice.

Liber Pater solved this problem by utilizing the soil. The estate's vineyards are planted on sandy soil mixed with gravel, and phylloxera struggles to reproduce in sandy soil. It is precisely because of this that Pasquet is able to grow grapevines on their own roots.

Pasquet argues that the flavor profile of Bordeaux was permanently altered when the vineyards were converted to grafted vines following the phylloxera outbreak, and that wines produced from vines grown on their own roots in the sandy soil of Graves offer a sensory experience rarely found in the region today.

Whether you agree with this claim or not, the soil is precisely what makes this project physically possible.

The varieties Bordeaux forgot

Most of the varieties grown at Liber Pater would attract attention elsewhere in Graves. Pasquet replanted varieties that were common in Bordeaux in the mid-19th century but had since quietly disappeared; some of these are varieties not permitted for cultivation under current INAO regulations.

Instead of purchasing clones, vine stock was selected using the massale selection method, which involves taking cuttings from old vines.

The varieties found in the vineyards and wines are as follows:

• Castets

• Petite Vidure

• Tarnay-Coulant

• St-Macaire

• Malbec, one of the few varieties recognizable to most wine enthusiasts

• Petit Verdot

The fact that Merlot is completely absent is one of the facts that defines this wine. Cabernet sauvignon is also missing in name, however Liber Pater uses Petite Vidure for his ungrafted massal selections of Cabernet Sauvignon, which make up most of the blend. So using the old name for cabernet sauvignon to distinguish them from conventional grafted vines.

Amphorae, barrels, and a two-month maceration

The 2015 fermented in amphorae and aged 85% amphorae, 15% barriques, and from 2018 the wine has been vinified exclusively in amphorae

Pasquet blends traditional and modern methods, seemingly unconcerned by the apparent contradiction.

Clay amphorae are part of this approach. The 2015 vintage for example was vinified in gray clay amphorae with capacities of 250 liters and 400 liters, and after two months of maceration, it was aged for three years. This approach leans toward the pre-phylloxera era rather than the modern Bordeaux style.

The 2015 fermented in amphorae and aged 85% amphorae, 15% barriques, and from 2018 the wine has been vinified exclusively in amphorae.

As a result, from Pasquet's perspective, a 19th-century Bordeaux-style wine infused with a modern sensibility has been created. No one else in the Graves region is making wine in this manner.

The wines

Along with the Liber Pater label itself, the name Denarius is one which is getting more and more known. As with all of the winery's products, production volumes are extremely low, a direct result of low yields and the small size of the Landiras vineyard.

The price not only reflects this scarcity but goes beyond it. Liber Pater is ranked among the world's most expensive wines, a fact that better illustrates the market's desire for the history predating the phylloxera epidemic than the conventional Graves benchmark.